This invention relates to a wheelbarrow for transporting circular (cylindrical) buckets. In many respects the present wheelbarrow is similar to a wheelbarrow depicted in my issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,667. The present wheelbarrow is considered to be an improvement on the wheelbarrow of U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,667, in that the buckets are positioned relatively close to the wheelbarrow longitudinal centerline, whereby the bucket load is more centrally supported, with less tendency of the wheelbarrow to tip over when it is being lifted and moved.
As with the wheelbarrow of U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,667, the present wheelbarrow is especially designed to transport circular buckets containing solid or liquid materials.
Conventional wheelbarrows are in some cases not fully effective for transporting bulk materials from one location to another location. For example, liquid materials tend to slosh and overflow the side edges of the wheelbarrow during the transport phase, especially if the wheelbarrow has to transverse bumpy or rough terrain. Also it is sometimes difficult to remove bulk materials from a conventional wheelbarrow, particularly when the unloading operation is to be performed in cramped or relatively inaccessible locations.
Also, the conventional wheelbarrow has a single dish-like compartment, so that only one material can be transported during any given trip; the conventional wheelbarrow does not permit different materials to be segregated and carried together from one location to another location in a single trip.
A further difficulty is that the conventional wheelbarrow cannot be readily cleaned without allowing the excess waste product to be dumped on the terrain; typically the wheelbarrow is cleaned by spraying water onto the wheelbarrow surface while the wheelbarrow is standing on end, such that waste products are caused to flow out of the wheelbarrow onto the ground. If the waste products are hazzardous there can be an environmental problem.
The present invention is directed to a wheelbarrow having a series of compartments or chambers adapted to removably receive standard size buckets. Typically each bucket is a five gallon cylindrical bucket having a height of about fourteen inches and a diameter of about eleven inches. Each bucket is tapered slightly from top to bottom to permit easy telescopic stacking of the empty buckets. Each bucket has a bail (handle) for bucket-lifting purposes.
The wheelbarrow has one or more bucket-retention mechanisms, that include a lower bucket-support platform and an upper bucket-confinement wall structure designed to prevent lateral shifting of the associated bucket while the wheelbarrow is moving from one location to another location. At the destination point each loaded bucket is lifted out of the specially designed wheelbarrow for storage, pouring or other disposition of the bulk material.
The wheelbarrow can be used in various different areas, e.g. by construction workers, warehouse personnel, gardeners, homeowners, farmers, and retail stores.
The wheelbarrow can be constructed in various different sizes, e.g. a relatively small wheelbarrow designed to carry two buckets, a medium sized wheelbarrow designed to carry four buckets or a large sized wheelbarrow designed to carry six buckets.
Further features of this invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of illustrative embodiments of the invention.